


Nesting Instinct

by Blisterdude



Category: Birds of Prey (Comic), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dysfunctional Family, F/F, Femslash, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-23 19:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4889194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blisterdude/pseuds/Blisterdude
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Black Canary rejoins the Birds of Prey as they settle in Platinum Flats with the aim of rebuilding her relationships with the crew and a particular former-Batgirl. Follow their lives in a city where business is crime and they struggle to protect a populace that doesn't want them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back In Town

Dinah sighed, as the thugs bustled around her. They were clearing out the warehouse pretty quickly now that two costumes had ‘stumbled’ onto their smuggling base. She tested the ropes binding her to the chair again. Wouldn’t be too hard to get free, the chair was old. Break the chair and the ropes’d come loose easy. 

She chewed on the rag in her mouth thoughtfully, noting with a hint of respect that they’d thought to at least gag her properly. The amount of bad guys who just pulled a cloth between her teeth or slapped a bit of tape over her mouth still these days, she chuckled at the thought of their faces when she used her canary cry and all their plans crumbled before their eyes. She liked that look, the moment they realised they were screwed. If she couldn’t use her tongue though, she couldn’t use her cry. Simple enough, really. The scarf pulled tightly over her mouth and nose ensured she couldn’t force the rag out. 

_ "…I mean how could you be so stupid, I told you it was a trap, you of all people, you knew it was a trap, now I’ve got to get hold of one of the others to try and get you…"  _

"Mmmpph-mmrrpphh." Dinah rolled her eyes. 

_ "…and this is how you announce you’re coming back? Most people might drop in and say hello and after the way you left last time I wasn’t sure you’d come back at all-"  _

"Mrrpphh!" Dinah retorted. 

_ "I did not have Manhunter spying on you for my own personal-…I…I did not have Manhunter spying on you!"  _

Barbara was still berating her in her ear through the comms. She’d been going at it for the last fifteen minutes.  What Dinah had been unable to tell her before she’d allowed herself to be captured, was that Misfit was here. On seeing the Birds’ surrogate in the hands of the armed criminals, she’d decided then and there that to hurl herself into the fray was too much of a risk. So she’d crept too close, all but giving herself away to the smugglers and their, admittedly pathetic, security and let one of their sentries ‘coldcock’ her.

This wasn’t how she’d intended to reacquaint herself with Barbara and the rest of the crew in Platinum Flats.  After the last time she and the Oracle had spoken, after Dinah had battered Manhunter senseless, she’d been racking her brains for a way to reconnect with her old friends. Mostly because she knew Barbara wanted to, but wouldn’t make any move herself. The woman could be infuriating, but Dinah recognised having a killer observe her and Ollie in Star City, while somewhat warped and twisted, was her friend’s only way of showing that she was missed without openly showing that she was missed.

_"I think I can get hold of Huntress, maybe she can manage not to get captured by a bunch of Saturday-morning special henchmen…"_ Barbara quipped sarcastically. 

That was Babs, all wrapped in a suit of armour made of wit, sarcasm, detachment and occasional…bitchiness. 

"Mmnn-rrmmph." Dinah grunted. 

Barbara clammed up. Dinah could almost hear the cogs and gears grinding as she began thinking. 

_ "Charlie hasn’t come home yet…"  _

"Mmmhmmn?" Dinah retorted, sarcastically. 

There was a brief pause. 

_"Oh bloody hell! I’m going to kill that girl myself when you get her home!"_ Barbara yelled. 

Dinah chuckled to herself at her friend’s outburst. 

She was waiting for the smugglers to finish loading whatever truck they had out the front. The last load of goods would see most of them out of the warehouse and the fewer of them in here, the better the odds she had of dealing with them without risking Misfits’ safety. 

Barbara would have a fit when she finally got Charlotte home. Dinah wasn’t sure she wasn’t going to have it out with the girl herself.  She had the power to teleport herself anywhere, but it was rather dependent on her ability to control her emotions. And being a teenage girl with, Dinah recalled sourly, raging hormones and the like that was probably hard enough at the best of times. She might be able to teleport, but from what she understood in her current state of mind, she might wind up in a wall, or inside a tree, or on the moon.

Like now, she thought, looking over at the younger girl. She was tied to a chair the same way as Dinah though she’d been gagged with a rag pulled taut between her teeth. She looked nervous, eyes glancing about frantically. She needed to get her to calm down. Dinah took a breath, and with the air of a practised veteran, scraped her chair steadily, if painfully slowly, over to the younger heroine. Misfits eyes lit up visibly as she closed the distance. With a last grunt of effort, she scraped her chair around so she was back to back with the girl. 

Dinah sighed as Charlie fumbled to grasp her hands, she clasped them, hoping to reassure her. She wished Charlie could get a handle on her emotions, she wasn’t weak, she was strong, she was brave, she had potential, but while she was so…unstable she was a danger to herself. 

Glancing around, she saw the smugglers still too preoccupied with their work to bother watching the two heroes. Sloppy, she thought.  Taking a deep breath, she put her plan into action. It was true that, while gagged, she couldn’t use her canary cry to its full effect, but she could still utilise its power to an extent. Dinah exhaled, slowly, the basic force of her gift still in effect. It caused consistent, but firm vibrations in the air that she could focus. Dinah did so now, the air rippled gently, she felt her gag shake, the knot at the back of her head loosened gradually. She felt a few beads of sweat break out on her forehead with the strain, but was rewarded as the knot came loose. 

"Mrruugghh." She grunted in relief. 

"Rrrgghh?" Charlie questioned. 

Dinah rubbed her cheek against her shoulder, satisfied as the scarf slid down from her mouth to hang around her neck. She spat the wad of cloth onto the floor, licking her lips against the dryness. She turned her head to look at Misfit. The red-haired teen was looking increasingly worried, Dinah was beginning to worry, maybe there was something else going on. 

"Okay sweetie, I need you to look at me. I need you to focus on me." 

"Rrrngh-hhrgh." She nodded. 

"You can get out of this, I know you can. You just need to relax, alright?" 

_"Is she okay?"_ Barbara’s voice came through again, concern evident in her voice. 

"She’s alright Babs, and she’ll be home soon, won’t you Charlie?" Dinah smiled, exuding confidence and assurance. 

She saw Charlotte visibly soften and relax. She nodded. 

"Okay, so can you do your teleporting thing and get yourself out of here? I’ll finish up here and meet you back home, how’s that sound? I might even beat up big bad Babs for you if she gets all up in your face, huh?" 

Barbara giggle-snorted over the comms and Misfit managed a smile, despite their precarious situation. 

_ "You’re on thin ice as it is, Canary, don’t make me clip your wings too."  _

Dinah rolled her eyes again, making a mock-nagging face. Charlotte grinned. She watched the girl shut her eyes and then…vanish, leaving an odd purplish haze and a pile of ropes where she had once been. 

"Neat." 

Now free of distraction, she put her effort toward getting free. The handy thing about being unconscious, or at least appearing to be, when the bad guys tied you up was that the knots were never as tight as they could be if you were fighting it. There was always some lax the bonds and if, like the Canary, you’d been training your physical prowess since a very young age with an old vigilante who knew your mother, who herself used to be a bit of a superhero whose title you inherited, you just needed to know how to apply pressure in the right way and… 

"Easy." Dinah grunted as the ropes came loose. She rubbed her wrists before untying the ropes around her thighs and ankles. 

"Hey!" 

She looked up as she got to her feet, several thugs had stopped their frantic evacuation and gathered around her. 

"’sup fellas." She grinned, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. 

"How did-…where-…where’d the other one go?" 

"Oh she’s such a flighty thing, they always are at that age." Dinah cracked her knuckles, eagerly. 

Some of the thugs had the decency to look apprehensive. 

"Boss, don’t you recognise her?" 

The ‘leader’ looked her up and down. 

"Dressed like that? Table dancer? Dominatrix?" He smirked. "Like the neo-biker chick thing. Great legs too." 

The men around him gaped, suddenly much, much more worried. Especially as Dinah shifted into a fighting stance. 

Barbara bawled with laughter over the comms. 

"Thanks for the support, four-eyes." Dinah 

" _Well, you do have great legs."_ Barbara replied, idly. 

"I-…what?" Dinah blurted, momentarily thrown. 

_ "Say, Misfit’s back, would you look at that. Time for me to do the telling-off thing. See you later?"  _

"Yeah, sure." Dinah turned back to assembled thugs. "Okay guys, it’s been fun and all, but let’s make this quick." 

She dug her feet in with a grin and braced herself as they rushed at her. 

 

… 

 

_ "…and reports seem unable to conclude as to the cause of the explosion or the collateral damage to the warehouse in the industrial district, officers on the scene arrived to find the remnants of a smuggling operation. Gang members offered no resistance and many arrests were made. Passers-by only seem to mention hearing a strange, high-pitched sound preceding the explosion, is this evidence of more meta-human involvement in the new-industry capital of the world? Is it benign or malicious? Only time will tell, next up, we…"  _

"Did you hear that?" Charlotte gushed. "Canary must’ve given ‘em hell." 

"No changing the subject, missy. You’re still in trouble." Barbara wagged a finger at the girl.  Inwardly, she was exasperated at the girl’s antics. She shut the TV off and wheeled herself over to the sofa, where the other girl was sat.

Barbara had no idea what to do with her, she wasn’t her mother. And though the Birds had taken her under their collective ‘wing’, none of them besides her were really there as a consistent guardian-figure, except maybe Helena. The others came and went a lot, it couldn’t be good for the girl. She needed real guidance. She’d had Charlotte enrol in a local high-school. It was something, at least, and a work in progress. 

Despite all that, she didn’t have the heart to send Charlotte away, to put her into care. She did care for the young would-be crimefighter. The worry was that if she did, Charlotte might just strike out on her own and get hurt, with nobody there to back her up. At least with the Birds, she had that. She was coming to the end of her tether, she had no real right to tell Charlotte what to do or how to behave. 

And now Black Canary had come back, Dinah was back. Sort of. Maybe. She wasn’t sure. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about it, fully. Tonight was the first they’d spoken since Canary had caught Manhunter observing her on her orders. Checking up on, she corrected herself. On her and Oliver collectively, she corrected herself again. And now she was in Platinum Flats without a word, and Barbara wasn’t sure why. Was there something wrong? Were things off between her and Oliver again? She bit down the little, self-satisfied voice that was yelling ‘good’ at that thought. Or was there something else? Or- 

"I’m sorry." Charlotte mumbled. "I just…I want to do more. And I can take care of myself, I just wasn’t-" 

"-ready." Barbara cut in, harsher than she’d intended. She sighed. "Which is exactly what I…what we are trying to make you, but you need to let us, you need to be patient." 

Charlotte was sat on the couch with her legs crossed, looking down as she fiddled her thumbs. Barbara bit her lip, then reached out and took the girls hands in hers. She was heading into uncharted territory without a map and she knew it. Charlotte’s gaze snapped upward to her, searchingly. 

"I was…worried about you, okay? I know it’s not easy, but I need you to bear with…with us." 

Barbara winced as the girl looked increasingly uncomfortable.  She retracted her hands, wondering if she’d pressed too far, then berated herself for that as Charlie recoiled a little. She was horrible at this. 

The comm crackled into life from her desk, Barbara fought hard to suppress her relief. She wheeled back to her monitor, retrieving her headset. 

_ "Hey, you gonna let me in to your new secret lair or do I need to kick down all the doors again?"  _

"I’d rather you didn’t, you tore the hinges out last night and I’m not really one for DIY." Barbara replied.  She punched a few keys on the keyboard. "Come on up, Di." 

The door to the study swung open, revealing Black Canary in all her…splendour. She was covered head to toe in dust, dirt and debris. Her jacket was torn and her fishnet stocking had holes in them but despite it all, she stood with her hands on her hips with the widest smile on her face. 

"Fucking-" Charlotte gaped. 

"Hey!" Barbara snapped. 

"I was just saying…" Charlotte shrugged. 

"…the hell happened to you, Dinah?" Barbara muttered, looking her old friend up and down. 

"We had a bit of a barney." She grinned, slapping her shoulders in a cloud of dust as she entered the room. "Feeling better Charlie?" 

"Yeah…um…thanks for coming after me." Charlotte stared fixedly at her feet, twiddling her thumbs again. 

Barbara blinked, was she blushing? 

"You’d have done the same for me." Dinah ruffled the girl’s hair affectionately. 

"Alright, well, it’s late and you’re not getting out of school tomorrow Charlie, so…" Barbara began. 

"Yeah, yeah. I’m goin’." Charlotte mumbled, getting to her feet. "Are you staying?" She asked, turning to Dinah.

Dinah paused, mouth half open. She could feel Barbara’s gaze on her, waiting on her answer. 

"I…I’ll be here tomorrow." She answered honestly. 

Charlotte mumbled a ‘goodnight’ and left the two women. Dinah turned back to Barbara, much more aware of the tension, and the space, between them now. She wondered if Barbara felt as edgy as she did, or whether that was just wishful thinking. She decided to make the first move. 

"Clocktower Systems, huh?" 

"I wanted to set down roots here for the team, and for Charlie." She shrugged. "All the girls are on file as employees, it’s a good cover and it helps finance us. I wanted to be-…" Barbara looked away, fiddling with her glasses. 

"Be what?" 

"Near." She replied, curtly. 

Dinah wanted to press the issue, but thought they were treading on thin ice as it was, so decided against it. 

"So, where are the others? How are they?" She asked, changing the topic. 

"Everyone has accommodation here, but by now most of the others have their own places in the Flats as well. Personal space and all that. They’re all good though. Helena and Zinda’ll be happy to see you, and Charlie’s missed you a lot." 

"I’ve missed her a lot, all of you, really." She ran a hand through her hair, trying to ignore the lumps of dirt and grit that tumbled out as she did.  "Have…uh…you…I’ve…missed you." She managed, silently cursing her tongue for betraying her.

Barbara was surprised, Dinah was one of the most forthright people she knew, she always spoke her mind, and here she was stumbling over her words. She obviously had a lot on her mind. She wanted her back, she’d wanted her back for a long time, but now she was here all she could feel was bitterness that she’d left to begin with. 

"Why did you come back, Dinah." She asked, bluntly. 

Dinah didn’t flinch at the question, she’d been expecting it. Dreading it, really. She crossed her arms, looking out the window. 

"Why did you move here?" 

They held each other’s gaze. 

"I told you why." Dinah felt her temper fray, sometimes Babs could be utterly infuriating. "If you don’t even trust me enough to tell me why you chose to come here, why you had Manhunter spying on me a few months ago, why should I trust you?" 

"Are you saying you don’t trust me anymore?" 

"I didn’t say that!" She retorted, louder than she’d intended. "What about you, don’t you trust me anymore? Does it matter why I came back?" 

"It does to me." Barbara replied, patiently. 

"What do you want from me Babs? Do you want me to tell you I can’t be around Oliver anymore? Do you want me to tell you we can’t go a day without a fight about the fact he can’t keep it in his pants? Do you want me to tell you my fucking life feels like it’s coming apart at the seams? Maybe you want to know the only time I felt like me, the only time I felt like everything made sense was when I was with the team, with you? Maybe you want to know I wanted to come back because…fuck." She laughed bitterly, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall. 

"I’m…um…" Barbara began. The guilt squirmed in her chest, she knew they’d both played a part in getting themselves to where they were now, and she knew that she should be apologising as much as her friend was trying to now. After all, though she’d never admit it to anyone, one of the main reasons she had moved here was to be near- 

"I’m sorry, Babs." The woman sniffed, wiping her eyes again. "Here I am rambling away and I haven’t even asked how you’ve been…" 

"Are you…okay?" Barbara asked, chiding herself for how lame it sounded. She winced as Dinah wiped her eyes again. Making her mind up, she wheeled closer to the woman and after a moments indecision, took her friends hands in hers, guiding the blonde down till she was knelt level with herself. "Your eyes are…uh…" Barbara stuttered, cringing at how red they were. 

"I…um…" Dinah laughed a little. "I rubbed in a load of dirt and grit, I’m such an idiot." 

She laughed again. Barbara began laughing too, despite all that had passed before. Soon they were both laughing together, and crying, and giggling and sobbing. Barbara pulled her friend into a hug, holding her head to her chest. Dinah wrapped her arms around her. God how she’d missed this… 

"I’m sorry." 

"I’m sorry too." 

Dinah felt better in the arms of her friend than she’d felt for a long time. She hoped they could start rebuilding their relationship Barbara ran a hand through Dinah’s long blonde hair, wishing they could stay like this forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably mention that besides using the end of Platinum Flats as a starting point, I'm gonna be playing pretty fast and loose with the canon. If that's something that bothers you a whole lot...I guess you're gonna be a little disappointed.


	2. Getting Reacquainted

"You’re back!"

Dinah had barely sat down at the table with a bowl of cereal before Zinda barrelled into her from behind. Barbara had put her up in one of the spare rooms for the night, as well as offering her a change of clothes. Thinking she’d have the morning to herself, she hadn’t even dressed, remaining in the long nightshirt and her underwear that she’d slept in. The two crashed to the floor, with the time-displaced aviator pinning her to the ground with a grin.

Zinda was clad in her usual uniform. Thinking about it, she wasn’t sure she could recall the wartime-pilot wearing anything else.

"How’s tricks, Blake?" Dinah kicked the energetic blonde upward, flipping her over onto her back before springing upward and pinning her down.

"You play dirty, Di." Zinda laughed, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"I play to win."

The two rolled apart at the sound of somebody clearing their throat.

"Are you going to tear apart my home every time you meet one of the others? …assuming it was fighting you were doing." Barbara wheeled into the room, eyebrow raised at the state of the two, particularly Dinah’s state of…undress. ‘I only ask because I know what you and Helena are like and I don’t think the building could stand up to that kind of punishment.’

"You worry too much Barbara." Zinda drawled, getting to her feet.

"I think I worry an adequate amount."

"Where is Helena anyway?" Dinah asked, taking her seat again.

"She’s got a teaching job at Charlie’s school. Helps to have somebody nearby to keep any eye on her too."

"School?" Dinah rubbed the back of her head, thoughtfully. "What time _is_ it?"

"Nearly midday." Zinda answered, pulling up a seat across from her.

"I didn’t want to wake you." Barbara piped up, seeing Dinah’s confusion. ‘After last night…’ She trailed off, seeing the meaningful gaze the blonde shot her."…I mean, after you busted those smugglers, must’ve tired you out."

"That was you, huh? Nice work, shoulda known." Zinda grinned, then narrowed her eyes. Dinah flinched as she reached out and pulled her long fringe aside. "Blimey, one of them did a number on you."

"No, that was me." She smiled weakly. She’d noticed the bruising that had flared up overnight when she’d had a shower that morning. "Got a bit careless with my cry, when I put a…hole in a wall."

Zinda let out a sharp laugh and even Barbara stifled a chuckle.

"Well, I’m off out. There’s this wicked place with loads of virtual ‘game’ things," Zinda made air quotes as she spoke. ", and I want to see if any of those kids’ve beaten my scores yet." She all but skipped out of the room with a wave.

Dinah looked at her wheelchair-bound friend in disbelief.

"She found an arcade the other week." She shrugged. "Like a kid in a candy store."

"Well she hasn’t changed." Dinah chuckled.

They lapsed into an uneasy silence, neither able to meet the other’s gaze. Barbara picked at the armrest of her chair, watching Dinah watching the bowl of cereal before her intently. She bit her lip as the blonde shifted in her seat on the high stool, causing the soft fabric of the nightshirt she was wearing to lift, revealing the curve of her shapely thigh and her black panties for a second, before slipping back down again. Barbara felt her heartbeat quicken for some reason and she felt a peculiar…tingling, and the blood threaten to flush her cheeks as her under-dressed friend eyed her suspiciously before looking away quickly.

"So..um…" Barbara began, wanting to push whatever just happened behind her. "…are you feeling better this morning? Do you want to…talk about anything?"

Dinah ran a hand through her hair, sending it cascading down her shoulders. The motion sent a rush down her spine and… _whywasitdoingthat?_ She’d never…reacted to her friend before but right now for some reason everything about her was…

"Not right now." The woman replied, looking up from the table. "I need to think about things a bit, I couldn’t do that there…but if …if you’ll have me back I can do that here."

 _If_? Barbara quashed the wince that almost crossed her features. She’d wanted nothing more than Dinah to come back ever since she left and she was giving the impression it was still an _if_? She knew she wasn’t good at…emoting but…was she really coming off as such a bitch? Part of her wanted to just wave her arms and tell her friend to never leave again, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t as simple as that, she led this team, she had to be a fixed point for them, she had to be a consistent voice for a group of disparate, dynamic and sometimes conflicting individuals. She couldn’t let her personal needs cloud that.

"You’re a part of the team." She replied, as warmly as she dared.

A gentle smile curled Dinah’s lips as she looked back at the table, her hair falling about her face. She looked beautiful. Barbara always thought she’d looked beautiful. Her mind raced, what she couldn’t figure out was why it was having a…different effect on her now.

"A part of the team, huh?"

"I-" Barbara began, feeling the need to say something else when an alarm rang out. "Shit." She hissed.

"What’s that all about." Dinah asked, getting to her feet and following the rapidly retreating form of her friend.

"I’m tapped into the cops comm chatter." She explained as they made their way through the building, into an empty set of offices." I designed a program to alert me whenever an APB is put out. It’s picked something up."

Barbara grabbed a laptop off a nearby desk, causing Dinah to giggle. She was sure Barbara had computer hardware tactically located within arms-reach throughout the building. The redhead turned, questioningly.

"Sorry, carry on." She raised her hands defensively.

"You might want to get dressed, unless you’re planning on going to work dressed like that?"

"Do you think it’d be distracting?" Dinah put her hands on her hips, with a ‘don’t sass me’ expression on her face that made Barbara’s stomach do flip-flops.

"…hard to say." She made a show of looking thoughtful, aware that she was using the opportunity to drink in her friend’s body. "I mean, I heard how you dress anyway, I heard a guy say you dress like a table-dancer." She grinned. _God_ , what was she doing? _Was she flirting?_

" _Meeeoooow."_  Dinah purred, making a cat’s paw gesture. Barbara’s skull was buzzing, _was Dinah flirting?_

_Were they flirting?_

She watched as Dinah strolled back towards the team’s personal-quarters. Barbara hadn’t felt so troubled in a long time. The moment she realised she was checking out the blonde’s behind as she went did little to allay her inner turmoil.

 

…

 

"Carface?"

_"Yup."_

"…Carface?"

_"Yup."_

"And this guy is…he’s a car."

_"Yup."_

Barbara heard Dinah erupt into laughter over the comms.

"So..." She regained her breath. "Carface?"

 

…

 

Helena took a sip of tea as she reclined lazily in the beaten old chair in the staffroom. The things she did for Barbara. So she was a qualified teacher anyway, it’s not like it was any extra work, and it did get her out on her own…mostly, for a while. But high-school kids did her head in.

Her thoughts turned to her old friend, the black-clad blonde vigilante who had made her see the value in being part of a team. Who’d taught her how to work with others, to trust others. The one who’d nearly ripped it all out from under her when she left. Not that she personally had a problem with Dinah for leaving, Helena always felt like she kept one foot out the door, she had no problem with Dinah putting the other foot out either. She had her reasons, whatever they were.

Charlie hadn’t liked it though, and Babs…Babs had gone out of her way not to react at all, which to her just screamed how much it had hurt her when Black Canary had left. But last night she’d apparently returned, rather unannounced, and pulled Charlie out of a scrape along the way. Helena had felt Barbara depending more and more on her to hold the team together since the move to the Flats, but she wasn’t Dinah. She couldn’t be Dinah, not even for Barbara.

Things had been quiet around here lately, this could be good, it might help them reconnect easier without having to worry about-

Helena found her train of thought rudely interrupted when the wall exploded. Instinctively, she threw herself to the floor, ducking the mass of dust and shattered brick and debris that flew across the room with the force of the blast. As the smoke cleared she saw, through the new gaping hole in the wall, all hell breaking loose outside. Police squad-cars had drawn up at either end of the long road out front of the school. She clambered to her feet, helping those of her colleagues who remained in the room out.

She declined their insistence that she leave with them, making up a reason about going back to check for others. She shed her purple suit-jacket, stuffing it in one of the lockers allocated for staff usage. Teachers were encouraged to keep changes of clothes on hand, in case of…well…anything really. Most probably didn’t have anything quite like _this_ , though, she thought as she changed into her Huntress costume.

 

…

 

"What’s going on out there?"

"Shit, looks like a battle."

"Cops everywhere, and-…hey, that’s Black Canary!"

Charlie was pressed against the windows with the rest of the class. The teacher was trying to get them out of the classroom, but nobody was listening. Outside, a guy who looked a bit like a truck was going toe-to-toe with a blonde woman in a black leather one-piece and fishnets. It was hard to tell who had the upper-hand at the moment. Charlie felt the itch to get out there and help grow by the second, but…

The image of a glowering Barbara and Helena looming over her haunted her imagination. They’d pulled a lot of strings to get her into school here and if she just went out there as Misfit it’d raise a few questions about where Charlie had gone, and…

She gaped as Huntress whipped into the fray with her grappling gun.

 _The hell with this,_ she thought, as they were finally ushered out to safety by the staff, _if Helena can do it, so can I._

Nobody noticed as one student among many vanished in a blink.

 

…

 

"So about Carface…" Dinah grunted, ducking a steel fist.

_"About Carface?"_

"Not Carface, Truckface, maybe Hummerface."

 _"…Hummerface?"_ Barbara replied, hesitantly.

"Quite…" She leapt upward, gracefully slipping into a roll as she dodged another weighty steel fist. "…possibly." She finished.

_"I’m tapping into the local CCTV, hang on, let me just…oh."_

"…oh?" Dinah laughed sharply.

Barbara furrowed her brow as she saw Carface or…Hummerface and Dinah staring each other down on the monitors before her.  He was a lot bigger than the last time they’d dealt with him, when Helena had given him a pasting. He had a chrome-bronzed look to him now, stood about twice the size and had more…vehicle-ish qualities.

"So you’re the Black Canary huh, thought you’d be tougher."

"Stick around auto-head, I like to see what my opponents are capable of before I commit to a fight."

"I might’a been beaten once before, but I upgraded, and nothin’ can stop me-"

He didn’t get to finish his rant as a blue/purple streak collided with the side of his head, sending him careening to the floor in a crash of scrapes and sparks. Dinah lowered her hand to see Huntress standing in his place, smug as hell.

"Hey Di, need a hand?"

"Helena!" The two embraced in the street, ignoring the curses and protests of the car…man…thing behind them. Dinah wrapped her arms around the slighter woman, lifting her off her feet in a tight hug. "I’ve missed you!"

"Missed you too, Canary." Helena managed, once she had her feet on the ground again.

Barbara watched the two, trying to ignore the spike of… _was that jealousy? Was she jealous? Why would she be jealous, what did she possibly have to be jealous a-_

"…*ahem*’ She crushed the renegade thoughts, telling herself she was interrupting the two for the sake of pragmatism. "As much as I loathe interrupting this reunion, there is still a man-car threatening a school full of kids."

"Sorry Oracle." Helena replied, knowingly.

The redhead flinched. She only ever called her that these days when she wanted her to know she knew something. And nothing, to Barbara, was more dangerous than a Helena Bertinelli who thought she knew something.

"…right, anyway, wrap this up you guys." She finished, a little sharply.

Dinah glanced at Helena questioningly, but the dark-haired woman only shrugged in reply. She had an idea what that was all about, but it wasn’t her place to make guesses.

"’sup guys?"

They both jumped as Charlie appeared beside them, in her full Misfit regalia.

"…Cha-…Misfit?!" Helena hissed, looming over her.

 _"M-…Misfit? Did you say Misfit? Is Charlie there? What the hell is Charlie doing there?!"_ Barbara yelled over the comms.

"Is that Barbara? Say I said hi!" She jumped excitedly.

 _"I’ll give her ‘hi’, I’ll give her bloody-"_ Barbara began.

"Babs says…hi." Dinah chuckled.

They all turned as the artist formerly known as Carface dragged himself to his feet. In the distance either side of them, the police began to close in.

"Okay, lets finish this, Misfit, get your ass back ins-…where’d she go." Helena looked around frantically.

Dinah tapped her shoulder, gesturing at the mediocre criminal. Misfit had appeared on his shoulders.

"Misfit!"

The teen ignored them, turning to the villain instead.

"So, you’re like, a robot or something right? I mean, you’re not exactly alive or anything, you’re not…biological matter?"

"What’s that got t’ do with-"

The two vanished in the blink of an eye.

"…um…"

"So…she seems to be coming along well…" Dinah turned to look at the momentarily off-balance Huntress.

"Do you hear that?"

Dinah listened.

"Sounds like somebody screaming."

The scream grew, and grew, and grew.

They looked up.

A red dot rapidly became a red blur that rapidly became the form of Carface. Dinah grabbed Helena by the shoulder, pulling her back with her. The metal-man hit the asphalt with a sickening cacophony of scrapes, crunches and clangs. Misfit appeared beside them, arms crossed in satisfaction.

"Care to do the honours, Canary?" Huntress asked as Carface struggled to his feet again. "You had first dibs, after all."

"Gladly." Dinah grinned. "Might want to stand back, ladies." She dug her feet in.

Carface looked at her with the expression of one who knows pain is in their future. She opened her mouth,  letting out a sharp, high-pitched, continuous screech. The force cannoned into the beaten villain, sending him flying into the building behind him. He didn’t move this time.

Barbara swore over the comms.

 _"Thanks for the warning Dinah. Gonna have to recalibrate these things for your cry…again."_ She muttered.

Helena was rubbing her ears, grinning weakly.

"Forgot what a big mouth you’ve got, girl."

Dinah punched her arm lightly.

"So, what now, tell the boys in blue what’s what?"

"Not exactly."

"What?"

 _"We’re not exactly popular with law enforcement here, get yourselves out of there."_ Barbara ordered. _"And you Charlie, you get back to class."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The teen drawled. "Bye Dinah!"

Dinah waved as she teleported away.

"I’d better get back too." Helena murmured.

"Yeah, I heard you’re a teacher now, how’s that going?"

"Kids." She muttered, head in her hands.

"Oh come on, you’ve been through worse."

"Well…there was this one time the criminal syndicate who run this town led us into a trap, and one of them took control of Zinda’s plane and attacked us, or when the Joker recognised Babs-"

"The Joker?!" Dinah blurted.

 _"Helena!"_ Barbara interrupted, sharply.

Helena suddenly felt she was in the middle of something she shouldn’t be as Barbara cursed again over the comms and Dinah stared at her in disbelief.

"I…I’ve gotta go. Later Di." She shot her grappling hook onto the roof of the school, zipping out of sight.

Dinah ducked into a nearby alley as the police closed in. She clambered up a nearby drainpipe onto a roof until she had room to breathe. Barbara had been silent. Dinah paced the rooftop, mind spinning.

"The Joker?" She asked again.

_"It was nothing really, I handled it."_

"It was the fucking Joker. The Joker came after you, alone. Were you going to tell me?"

 _"He only recognised me as Barbara Gordon. I said I handled it."_ Even Dinah could hear the hint of satisfaction in her voice.

"He’s the one who….who put you in…he did that to you, Babs. Did you know he was here when I came by with Manhunter?"

_"It doesn’t matter Di, I don’t see what-"_

"It matters to me." She cut in, sharply.

 _"…Dinah…"_ Barbara began. _"It’s not your fault, you weren’t here, you couldn’t-"_

"I wasn’t here. I wasn’t here for you and I should have been. I wasn’t here when… _he_ came after you."

Barbara opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say. Dinah was clearly troubled over her decision to leave, moreso now she knew what she’d missed.

Dinah mistook her silence for blame.

"I don’t know what I was thinking, that I could just come back and we’d be cool. I must have been out of my mind…"

Barbara blinked, pushing her thoughts aside.

 _"Dinah will you just shut up a minute and listen?"_ She sighed, rubbing her eyes. _"I don’t blame you."_

"Barbara…"

 _"We need to talk. Come back to CS and…"_ She chuckled. _"I’ll put the kettle on."_

Dinah looked across the rooftops toward Clocktower Systems with  a sigh.


	3. Old Wounds

For the second time in as many days, Dinah and Barbara found themselves staring each other down in the lead-up to what was sure to be another heated…discussion.

Dinah had taken her time making her way back from the conflict with Carface. If she knew the blonde at all, and Barbara hoped she still did, she figured she'd been trying to give herself time to cool off before heading back.

They were collected around a table in Barbara's office. A wall of monitors and computer equipment ran along the wall behind her, casting the darkened room in a dim glow.

"The Joker?!" Dinah demanded, leaning forward, palms on the table, frowning.

Barbara scowled back. Maybe her friend should have waited a little longer.

Helena was standing to one side, wincing. She and Charlie had arrived just moments before Dinah had stormed in. At least she had held back until their young ward left the room.

"Yeah." Barbara replied, calmly.

"Di, c'mon." Helena stepped forward, hands raised peacefully. "Everyone is okay, we handled it. Barbara handled it." The dark-haired woman added, glancing her way, briefly.

"The fucking Joker!" The blonde hissed. "Why didn't you-…why didn't  _anybody_  tell me?" Barbara watched Helena recoil as Dinah sent a withering glare her way too.

"There was no time, and Barbara told us to leave you alone after-" Helena began.

"I'm not made of fucking glass, Di." Barbara interrupted, coldly. She shut her eyes and exhaled. "You know that." She continued, softer.

Her friend blinked, expression faltering slightly, becoming unreadable. Her shoulders sagged too. Not for the first time since her sudden return, Barbara felt there was something else wrong here, something else that caused the Black Canary to find her way back to them.

"I should have been here."

"So should Batman." Helena shrugged. "Ol Dark-y really dropped the ball losing track of that clown."

"'sides," A cheery voice broke in, causing them all to jump. "You shoulda seen what Babs did to the freak!"

"Charlie!" Barbara growled, mustering her best frown as she glared at the freckled teenager, perched up on top of a set of filing cabinets, swinging her legs idly.

"His smile will never be quite the same again." The girl grinned.

Helena crossed her arms, letting out a chuckle. Barbara scowled at her, requesting support mentally but the older woman merely smirked back with a near-imperceptible shake of the head.

 _Thanks a lot_ , Barbara groaned inwardly. But then Dinah's lips curled into a smile. She stood up, looking over at the teenager with another expression Barbara wasn't entirely sure she recognised on her friend.

"Yeah?"

"She smashed the fu-" Charlie stopped, noticing Helena's raised eyebrow. "…er…smashed the freak's teeth in." She finished, grinning weakly.

"You'll have to tell me about it sometime, then." Dinah glanced around the room with a mock-frown. "These guys don't seem to want to share."

"Soooo, you're not leavin' then?" Charlie ventured. "I mean, the last time you came back it was just to fight 'n all."

"Hadn't planned to." Barbara fought hard not to blink when Dinah's eyes met hers briefly. "I…had a lot on my mind last time."

She found herself watching their exchange with some interest, seeing a side to Dinah in her interactions with Charlie she rarely saw, but had before, with Sin.

 _So that was it,_ she realised, as surely as a bulb switching on in her head.

"You'd better not be going anywhere soon, Canary. It's been ages since we had a night out." Helena piped up, sensing the mood of the room ease.

"Never thought you'd be in such a hurry to humiliate yourself again." Dinah quipped.

"Your memories are different than mine." Helena shot back.

"Oh please, I always could drink you under the table."

Charlie was grinning at the two, goofily. Even Barbara felt herself easing up, enjoying the familiarity of how it used to be. She needed to focus, though. If Dinah was going to stay, if she was going to rejoin the team, if she was going to get her friend back, she wanted to talk everything out here, and now.

"Helena, could you…" She indicated Charlie subtly.

"Sure." Helena nodded, picking up on her hint. "C'mon kid, I know for a fact you've got some homework that needs doing."

"Living with a teacher blows." The girl mumbled.

"Yeah, it's a cruel world." Helena placed an arm on her shoulder and the two left, shutting the door behind them.

And then they were alone again. For a moment, Barbara as worried Dinah would pull away again as she was she would open up and talk. She'd never been as good at the whole talking thing. Even with friends. Even with close friends, of which she had notoriously few. And most of those few lived in this building with her.

"Wasn't there an offer of tea or something?" Dinah shrugged, with a lopsided grin, pulling Barbara from her thoughts.

She shook her head slightly, fighting the smile that threatened to spread across her face. With a cautionary look towards the door, she reached down beneath her chair and coiled her fingers around the neck of the chilled bottle, slowly placing it on the table between them.

Dinah's brow peaked in this adorably surprised way and Barbara found herself glad she was still able reach something of her closest friend.

"I thought…maybe…" She gestured vaguely to a chair on one side of the table.

Dinah said nothing at first, but slowly walked round the table, shrugging off her jacket as she did, leaving her in the leather one-piece she always wore out on missions. The blonde slung the jacket over the back of the chair and sat down, folding one long leg over the other and leaning forward slightly, sending locks of hair tumbling over her bare shoulders. Her heart was going fifty-to-the-dozen in her chest and her throat felt constricted and…was her hand actually shaking a little?

Barbara adjusted her glasses, hoping it would mask the fact she was staring with more than a casual interest. Inwardly, she wondered when the hell it was exactly she'd started to find the woman… _attractive._ It had been so long since she'd felt anything like this about another person in her life, so long since she'd even  _allowed_  herself to feel her own needs. She'd never even really considered that she might be…interested…in women before…

Not that she was now. And definitely not Dinah. Dinah was her friend, probably her most trusted friend, and they hadn't really seen each other since they went their separate ways. Probably she just wanted the relationship they used to have back. Probably concern too, now that she thought she had a good idea what was wrong.

"So…" Dinah said, quietly, looking at her out of the corner of her eye. "Are we just gonna admire that bottle or…"

Barbara produced a corkscrew after some fumbling, mentally berating herself for allowing her mind to wander yet again. Dinah opened it, pouring some into two glasses.

"Been a long time since we did this. Never thought I'd miss it so much." Dinah swallowed a mouthful. "All of you."

Barbara watched the blonde carefully while she drank. She decided to cut to the chase, hoping it wouldn't push them into another argument.

"I'm sorry about Sin, Dinah."

Dinah's eyes locked with hers and Barbara flinched a little at the sheer intensity behind them. She wondered quickly if she'd made a mistake. She pressed on.

"The way you look at Charlie." Barbara continued. "I only remember seeing you like that…uh…one other time."

And then Dinah let out something between a laugh and a sob.

"Of course you know."

There was no accusation in her tone, no malice, simply a resignation. Barbara nodded slowly.

"Oliver needed my help to…get her away." Barbara replied. "She's…safe." She added.

"I know."

"He was trying to do the right thing." She continued. "He only wanted what was best for her, and you." Barbara felt the need to speak up for Green Arrow's actions, if only because it was so easy to speak of his faults.

"It felt like the bottom had fallen out of my world." Dinah ran her finger around the rim of her glass, eyes glazed over. "Like…I had nothing left. And then when I found out that he'd faked the whole thing to get her away from the League of Assassins it just…" She shrugged, helplessly.

"I didn't know he hadn't told you about…the plan. Not till afterward. I had no idea until…until you…"

"I believe you." Dinah interrupted, smiling a little. It threw off her train of thought. Dinah must have seen her momentary confusion because she continued. "You trusted me with your identity, way back when you didn't trust anybody. When we didn't even really know each other."

"Oh." Barbara managed.

"It meant something.  _Means_  something…to me anyway." Dinah was looking at her now. She was beginning to feel a little lost. "So…is this what you wanted? Me spilling my guts at how shitty my life has been for the last few months?" She joked, taking another drink.

"I want my friend back." Barbara replied, taken aback by her own honesty.

Dinah's gaze was fixed on her again, and there was a tension in the room, but different from the one before.

"I'd like that, too." Dinah replied. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"That's not what I mean and you know it, Di." Barbara cut back. "I want us to talk."

Dinah looked away, but nodded.

"I don't want us to just ignore all the…the stuff that's happened. " She continued, voice raised slightly. "Ever since…this," She gestured to her legs and the wheelchair vaguely. ", I just…pulled out of life. Being the Oracle let me do what I needed to do to help people using all I thought I had left to give. Then I met you, and through you, the rest of the Birds, and through them I reconnected with a lot of people I never should have let go of."

"Babs…"

"I think if I hadn't met you, when I did, I'd have abandoned Barbara Gordon completely." She shrugged, taking a drink. "There'd only be Oracle."

They remained in silence for a moment, looking at one another. Dinah nodded to herself softly and took a breath.

"I left Star City because I had nothing left." Dinah swallowed another mouthful of wine as she seemed to try to organise her thoughts. "Ollie asked me to marry him but…you know how that went. He cheats, he sleeps around, sure he never *means* any harm but…it's just who he is. And with what happened to Sin, yeah, he saved her but…I couldn't do anything. He couldn't trust me with what he'd done for her safety, because it was too dangerous for her to be *with* me. *I* couldn't protect her. *I* would have put her in danger. The best thing I could do for her was to let her be taken away."

Barbara didn't say anything, letting her friend continue.

"I don't even know if I love Ollie, I don't know if I ever did. We always just seemed to be pushed together or something, something about it just felt solid, safe, secure. Only really it wasn't. And the whole thing with Sin just…" She shrugged. "After that there was really nothing left. Left of our relationship, left of me… It felt like I'd lost control of my life. I left because my life was…I left because I needed…" Dinah's eyes found hers, but this time, she felt no discomfort and held her gaze. It was as if her former teammate was willing her to understand.

She wasn't sure what to say. It was like she was at war with herself. Oracle was ordering her to be professional, to think of the team, to consider the pros and cons and how this would affect the dynamic of their mission-effectiveness.

Barbara Gordon just wanted to give her friend a hug.

"It's been…hard…without you." Barbara mumbled, after a pause, staring pointedly at the glass in her hands.

"Will you tell me something?"

Barbara looked up. Dinah was pouring herself another drink. She managed a small nod, adjusting her glasses again.

"Did you move to Platinum Flats because of me?"

The silence that followed was the loudest Barbara ever remembered.

The Oracle would never have even considered such an idle, foolish notion. The Oracle would have weighed the tactical benefits, the severity of the situation, whether their quarry was enough of a threat to warrant such a move…

Barbara hadn't wanted to lose her friend.

"Babs?"

She blinked, feeling like a kid caught out in class for not listening.

"…uh…" She cleared her throat. Then finished her glass. Then ran a hand through her tangled hair.  _Really could use a shower or something…_

Dinah was smiling at her. Ordinarily such a thing was cause for alarm, but the sensation she was feeling was not unpleasant.

"What?" She asked, more defensively than she'd intended.

"Can I take your procrastinating as a yes?"

"It's…not a no." Barbara took the bottle and filled her own glass, if only to try and ignore Dinah's frustratingly knowing smile.

"Close as I'm gonna get, huh?" The blonde sat back, crossing her arms and frowning in mock disappointment.

"As Helena would say Di, "Take the win." " Barbara smirked back.

"Ouch." Dinah chuckled, finishing another glass.

By this point, Barbara was getting a little dizzy. She wasn't sure about Dinah, but…

"Refill?" An empty glass appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Sure." She filled it, then her own for good measure.  _Where was I?_

She swallowed a mouthful, watching Dinah do the same. The motion shifted her hair, exposing her the black choker she wore around her neck, Barbara traced the curve with her eyes, finding it oddly fascinating how it…and then her eyes went down a little further and…

She took another drink, unable to remember if she was trying to clear her head or busy it.

"Been a while since I've drank this much." Barbara noted, half to herself.

"We used to quite a bit, as I recall. Have to fix that." Dinah wagged a finger at her lazily.

The sight caused of the woman trying to appear semi-serious caused her to let out a giggle. An actual giggle. That in turn caused Dinah to giggle-snort, which had Barbara laughing, which had Dinah laughing in return.

Barbara was pretty sure some time had passed, because when she picked up the bottle again it was half empty.

"Think I'm a little drunk, y'know." She was surprised by how unsurprised she was as she slurred her words.

"It's okay sweetie," Dinah cooed, trying and failing to hide her swaying by resting her arm on the table. "You're just outta practice, that's all!"

A thought managed to fight its way to the surface, through the haze of alcohol in her mind and she managed to train her gaze on Dinah.

"So…you're staying?"

Something flashed across Dinah's features for a moment, then she leaned forward, across the corner of the table and extended her hand. Barbara stared at it for a moment, as if it was some foreign object, and The Oracle was banging on the door somewhere in her skull berating her for allowing herself to be in this situation.

Barbara knocked back the last of her drink and slid her other hand across the table toward Dinah. Their fingers touched lightly, then meshed together. It felt good.

"If you'll have me."

Barbara said nothing, but took Dinah's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.


	4. Dirty Work

_"I don't believe this."_

"Mmm." Helena grunted, irritably.

 _"Again? I mean-"_ Barbara scolded over the comms.

_"What? What is it? Hey guys!"_

_"Charlie? Damn it Charlie, where did you-"_ The Oracle groaned.  _"Nevermind. Get off the line!"_

 _"C'mooooon!"_ The teenager whined.

There was a crackling sound in her ear and what sounded like a muffled argument. Helena managed to turn her head just enough to meet her partners eyes. Dinah's eyes were alive with amusement. The blonde would probably have been laughing if she hadn't been gagged.

Helena rolled her eyes, working her aching jaw under the tape coiled around her head. One of them should probably start working on an escape about now. As chilled as Dinah seemed to be, Helena felt like there were better ways to spend an evening than taped back-to-back, dangling from a hook attached to a chain on the ceiling, hanging above an honest-to-god shark-filled water tank.

Below them, Gangly Man, one of the heads of the Silicon Syndicate, was glaring up at them looking infinitely pleased with himself. For some reason, the words  _maniacal glee_  kept running through her mind.

Or maybe he was ogling them. That was possible too. And if anything made her feel even more uncomfortable. She sighed. You just couldn't find the villains these days.

_"What did I miss? You were just supposed to recon the workshop!"_

"Mmm-mm." Dinah mumbled in reply.

 _"I'm glad you find all this so amusing, Di."_ Barbara scolded.  _"Now I'll have to get ahold of Zinda on her night off and…"_

Helena scowled at Dinah as Barbara went off on a long-winded rant, failing once again to realise when the blonde was baiting her. Dinah merely waggled her eyebrows playfully.

Dinah couldn't deny she was having the time of her life. Babs was pissed, Helena had a perpetual scowl, the lanky guy in the suit was yelling at various henchmen…

He had a shark, a shark in a tank. She hadn't seen one of those in  _years_. It was adorable.

Probably time to get out of this mess, though. She struggled round to look at Helena. The Huntress gave her a look that suggested her patience was wearing thin and that she did not appreciate Barbara's scorching diatribe currently assailing their ears.

Dinah gave her a meaningful glance, her eyes going down to Helena's belt repeatedly.

"Mmm?" She frowned, dubiously.

"Mmm!" Dinah nodded her head downward.

Helena's eyes widened briefly as she understood. She started reaching awkwardly for a clip on her belt. Between the tape around her wrists and the criminal activity going on below, she seemed to be having a hard time. Dinah stretched her fingers out to try and help. They were getting somewhere, finally having awkwardly opened a compartment on her belt and slid out a thin, but sharp, blade.

 _"Don't worry."_ Charlie's voice cut in over the comms.

_"Charlie, what-…damn it! Where did she-"_

"Hey guys." The teenager greeted, suddenly appearing on the chain above them, in her Misfit costume, causing them both to jump.

"Mmph?!"  
"Mmrrm?!" They both groaned in frustration as the razorblade slipped out of their fingers and into the tank below with a near imperceptible  _plop._

"Er…sorry." She grinned weakly as they both glared up at her.

_"Is she there?"_

"Mmm-mm." Helena nodded, slowly.

_"You are so grounded when you get back." Barbara stated._

"I'm already grounded." Charlie objected.

_"You're double-grounded!"_

"Oh fu-"

"Mmrrph!"  
"Mmmpph!"  
 _"Language!"_  The three older women interrupted, sharply.

"Sorry." The girl apologised. "Look, we can play the blame game later, but I can help, right?"

"More of them!" Gangly Man suddenly yelled from below.

 _"Get a move on then!"_ Babs yelled.

Misfit scampered down the chain until she was hanging level with them.

"They've got guns." She observed. "Is that a shark?"

"Mmm!" Helena demanded.

She leaned round so she was facing Dinah, her face scrunched up like she was uncomfortable.

"This might hurt."

 _Ah_ , Dinah mused,  _and here's why I hate tape._

"Mmrm." She nodded, inwardly bracing herself.

A shot rang out from somewhere below, causing her to jump, just as Charlie tore the tape free of her hair all in one go.

"Shit!" She hissed.

 _"Dinah."_ Barbara scolded over the comms, reproachfully.

"Later, Babs." Dinah replied.

Another couple of shots followed, hitting the ceiling above.

While Charlie moved onto Helena, Dinah noticed the chain they were fixed to was on runners. She turned to say something to Helena, just as the dark-haired woman was turning to face her.

"Got a plan." Dinah's eyes flashed with glee.

"Oh no." Helena shook her head, not liking the blonde's expression one bit.

"Oh yes."

"Oh dear." Charlie gulped, as another series of gunshots cracked out.

"How are you missing them!?" Gangly Man bellowed.

"Hold on tight and close your ears." Dinah warned, but before she'd even finished Charlie had wrapped her arms tightly around the both of them.

"Need…to…breathe." Helena choked.

_"Hold on, are you going to-"_

Barbara was drowned out as Black Canary opened her mouth, letting out an ear-splitting shriek. She directed it downward into the tank, shattering the glass and washing away Gangly Man and his men in a rush of water and…one very irate shark. They just barely made out the mobsters screams as the shark was washed toward him in the torrent.

The force of her cry sent them flying backwards, the metal wheels screeching painfully in the runners as they rolled across the ceiling and-

-tore them violently free of the tape fixing them to the chain and-

-out the boarded-up window and-

-sailing out into the night in a chorus yells and-

-crashing into a packed dumpster in the street below.

They remained there for a few minutes when they heard the inevitable sound of police sirens drawing near from the other side of the building.

"Lucky this was full." Charlie managed, fighting her way free of the debris.

"The term 'Lucky' is subjective, at this point." Helena groaned, pulling herself free of the last of the tape around her wrists.

"That was fun." Dinah chuckled, despite all evidence to the contrary, as she struggled out of the dumpster with a certain lack of grace.

 _"Damn it Di, one day you're going to ruin this equipment…and what's left of my hearing."_ Barbara complained.

The sirens were louder now, but still on the other side of the building.

"Good work, team. Sounds like the boys in blue have it under control." Dinah grinned, dusting herself off, while Helena and Charlie slowly joined her. "Who's up for take-out back at the office?"

"I'll get the dinner stuff out." Charlie said, then suddenly she was gone.

 _"Jesus, Charlie!? What the hell have you been doing? You stink!"_ Barbara yelled, abruptly.

"I need a bath." Helena whined, holding up a strand of her hair despairingly.

 _"Oh god, a dumpster?"_ Barbara continued, obviously talking to Charlie.  _"That's it. In the shower. You are ALL showering before you come anywhere near me."_

"But we saved the day!" Dinah argued, as she and Helena found her motorbike where she'd left it earlier that evening.

_"Then it'll be a very heroic shower."_

"No reward is worth this." Dinah smirked, climbing on the bike.

_"No scruffy-looking nerf-herders on my team."_

"Did you just quote Star Wars?" Helena shook her head in disbelief, climbing on behind her and folding her arms around Dinah's torso. "Geeks, all of you."

Dinah laughed as she kicked the bike into gear and they roared into the night.


	5. A Warning

"Tired though." Charlie whined, faceplanting the table, spoon held firmly in one hand.

"Whose fault is that, kid?" Zinda chuckled, waving a bit of toast at the teenager as she crossed the kitchen.

The rest of the birds were sat around the table, besides the teenager and Helena, most still in various forms of sleepwear.

"Suck it up." Helena droned, chin resting in her hand and blankly staring into her bowl of cereal. "All you gotta do is sit there and ignore your education. Some of us gotta actually  _work._ "

Barbara raised a hand, as if about to say something, when the sound of Dinah's snoring cut in. The blonde was sprawled back in her chair, head hanging over the back and mouth wide open, in the least dignified position she'd seen in…oh…a week at least?

"Sometimes, I think I can be forgiven for thinking I run a team of highly-trained, expert vigilante operatives, don't you?" Barbara quipped, brow raised.

Dinah snored again, loudly. Charlie stifled a laugh.

"Lummox." Helena shook her head, but smiled nonetheless.

Barbara watched her sleep with a mix of sympathy and amusement. Then she picked up a spoon and flicked it at the blonde's head.

"WAUGH?" Dinah blurted, letting go of the table and sailing backward with a crash.

"Where's Manhunter anyway?" Helena asked, as the Black Canary muttered away to herself, struggling back into her chair.

"Personal errand." Barbara replied, simply, in a manner which suggested that avenue of discussion was firmly over.

"Ever heard of just saying 'Hey, wake up?' or 'Dinah, get movin'?" Dinah growled, scowling at them all across the table. Her hair was all mussed up now, her fringe cover her face.

Barbara meshed her fingers and rested her chin on them, meeting Dinah's eyes.

"Wake up, Di."

"Ha ha."

"Better get going ourselves." Helena groaned after downing the last of her coffee. "C'mon kiddo." She gestured toward Charlie as she put on her purple, formal jacket.

"Fine." Charlie muttered, getting up and stalking out of the room.

"Later." Helena waved slightly before following the teen out.

"Better start my patrol I guess." Zinda threw them a wave before jogging out after. "Borrowing your bike, thanks Canary!" The pilot called from down the hallway.

"Whff!?" Dinah managed, choking on a mouthful of cereal.

"Let it go, Di." Barbara rubbed her back gently, while the blonde tried to steady her breathing.

"Really need to lock that thing up." She replied, though there was no seriousness in her tone.

They lapsed into silence, enjoying the quiet of the morning now everyone else had gone.

"So…" The redhead ventured, pushing her breakfast aside.

"…so?" Dinah looked up, idly spinning her mug of coffee with her finer.

"Are you feeling…better?" Barbara continued. "About being back? Like, you seem…uh…"

"Happier?" Dinah half-grinned. "It's…a bit like I never left. Everybody…" The blonde spared her a look she couldn't identify. "… _everybody_  has just accepted me and…" Her face clouded over.

"What's wrong?" Barbara asked, curter than she'd intended, but Dinah didn't seem to notice.

"I don't deserve it. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Barbara sighed. She reached over, placing her hand over one of Dinah's.

"The other shoe will be Helena's, up your ass, if you don't quit worrying about nothing." She grinned.

Dinah's lips curled in a smile.

"One day, you and I will talk about why you left. I know it wasn't just about Ollie and Sin." She saw Dinah's worried glance and squeezed her hand, reassuringly. "But in your own time, okay? When  _you_  are ready and not before."

"Thanks, Babs."

"I've just got you back, last thing I want to do is scare you off again." Barbara chuckled, then inwardly balked. " _We._  We have. The team."

"Yeah, I know." Dinah looked back at her mug, still smiling.

Barbara suppressed the instinctive urge to flee and even managed to fend off an excuse about getting started on her Oracle duties.

"Y'know, we have a training room on-site." She began. "Feel like a workout?"

"What are you trying to say?" Dinah argued, defensively, looking from Barbara down to her stomach, then back again.

"Well, after last night's show I think the lot of you could use some practice." Barbara explained, crossing her arms.

"How can you be so cruel?" Dinah slumped forward.

"Tough love, Di. Tough love." She patted the woman's shoulder. "Now, hop to it Canary, I've got the morning free so we're going to make the most of it."

"Lucky…me" Dinah yawned, as she got up and plodded out of the kitchen, while Barbara followed, shaking her head with a grin.

…

"Miss Bertinelli, Josh keeps drawing in the textbook."

Helena managed to suppress the scream that yearned to be let free.

"It's not anatomically correct, Miss."

"How would  _you_  know, Rachel?" Josh sniggered.

"Shut up." Rachel snapped back.

The class let out a low, rumbling laugh.

"Josh, stop drawing on George Washington. This isn't biology." She ordered, lazily. "Turn to page sixty-three."

She sighed, momentarily imagining herself tanning on the roof back at Clocktower Systems in that new bikini she'd bought the other day, being fed grapes by some athletic, young…well…male, female, she wasn't picky.

"Miss Bertinelli, now he's drawing them on President Lincoln."

_Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream._

…

Zinda relished the rush of the cold air as the bike tore down the street. It was a heavy motorbike, old, it reminded her of home. Dinah had good taste.

She screeched round the next corner, fascinated as a man waved out of his car angrily making an odd gesture with his hand.

She did the same back, and was surprised when this seemed to make him angrier.

"Well." She huffed, kicking the bike up a gear, roaring onward.

As she pulled left onto the next street, she noticed it. Movement, just barely in her line of sight on one of the low roofs to her left. It might have been nothing, but something in the furtive nature of the figure set her teeth on edge.

She decided not to act on it, playing like she hadn't noticed anything and sure enough, she again saw a flash of movement as the figure apparently ran and jumped from roof to roof, keeping pace with her. Zinda touched the comm in her ear.

"Oracle, something you-"

She never finished as the figure suddenly broke right, leaping off the rooftop and somersaulting through the air. Before she had even drawn her revolver the figure had landed with an unnatural grace on the back of the bike, one hand on her shoulder and the other with a knife to her throat.

"Keep driving." A voice, female, ordered.

Zinda spared a brief glance backward, making out a thin, lithe, dark-haired Asian woman wearing a scarf across her face, wound around her neck and a long, leather coat.

"Shiver, right?" She ventured.

"Shiva." The woman corrected, calmly. "Lady Shiva. You know me then, that simplifies things."

"True." Zinda cocked the hammer on her revolver as she pressed the barrel up against the woman's gut. "I like simple."

"Are all the Black Canary's allies so…tenacious?"

"Heard Huntress gave you a hidin', way back when."

"She did well, for such an amateur."

Zinda turned carefully at the next intersection, keeping to the emptiest roads she could.

"So, take it this ain't just a social call."

"I have a warning for the Black Canary." Shiva replied, without hesitating. "The League of Assassins has…changed leadership."

"So?"

"So your friend is in trouble. Or will be soon."

There was a rush of air and Zinda spun, raising the gun higher, but Shiva was gone.

…

"So, feeling the 'burn' yet?" Dinah smirked as she meshed her fingers and stretched her arms out in front of her. Barbara watched as her head lolled back and she let out a contented groan.

"I'm feeling something." Barbara winced as she worked her shoulder, from where she was sat on the bench. "At least you seem more with it."

Dinah merely grinned happily, hopping from one foot to the other idly. Barbara tried to keep her eyes off her friends' bare legs and…no, the chest wouldn't do either. She settled for watching her ponytail whip with every bounce.

Why couldn't training gear cover more skin.

Her shoulders continued to pulsate with a seemingly endless dull ache. She'd probably pushed it too far, again. She always did. Try as she might, whenever she did her exercises, she always went just too far.

"Probably gonna lock up in the morning."

Dinah removed her gloves, wiggling her fingers to get the feeling back from where she'd been punching the heavy bag.

"I'm impressed." Dinah began, placing her hands on her knees and leaning forward so they were almost eye-level. "For someone who-"

Barbara scowled.

"I'm pretty good for someone like me, you were going to say?" She cut in, then instantly felt her stomach churn. Where had that come from? "I mean…"

Dinah's expression faltered and she felt her gut knot with guilt.

"I didn't mean-"  
"No. I'm-…I didn't mean-" They both stuttered.

Dinah crouched down, resting her arms on her knees.

"You don't really think I'd say something like that about you, do you?"

"No, it was…" Barbara shrugged. "I don't know." She looked away, unable to meet her friend's gaze.

"I'm sorry." Dinah said, quietly, moving to get up.

Barbara grabbed the blonde's wrist, without thinking. Dinah paused, then remained where she was.

"Do you ever…" Barbara frowned, trying to sort her thoughts. "…have this… _voice_  in your head, constantly telling you you're not trying, not fighting, never doing…enough? Always there, always…second-guessing? Always making you feel…wrong. Always never good enough?" She finally moved her eyes from the mat behind Dinah up to the woman's face.

Dinah removed her hand from her wrist, then held it between her palms. Her eyes were steady, unflinching, honest.

"All the time." She replied, sadly.

Barbara nodded slowly. Of course she did too. She knew that.

"Sorry."

"Me too." Dinah gave her hand one last squeeze before jumping up, smiling like nothing had happened. "Anyway, day's-a-wasting. Anything planned for the afternoon?"

"Well…" Barbara fingered her ear idly. "I really should make a start on that data-pack for Nightwing…"

"Or we could plough through the last series of Doctor Who? I saw it on your Netflix queue." She grinned.

"Tempting." Barbara smirked, wryly. "But I do need to get some work done."

"You're pulling rank?" Dinah mock gasped.

"I'm the boss. Privilege of position." Barbara shifted upright on the bench. "Fetch us the chair please?"

"Ouch." Dinah mouthed. "Sure thing, boss." She replied, wheeling it in front of her.

With a grunt, she lifted herself by her arms into the wheelchair. Dinah didn't offer to help, knowing full well she'd ask for help if she needed it and respecting her need for space. It was something she'd liked right away about Dinah, from way back when they'd first met. It was a quality that she'd only appreciated more over time. The respect was mutual.

"Well, I'm going to slum it in front of the TV then." Dinah held the door to the gym open for her as she wheeled out.

"First you're going to hit the showers." Barbara ordered. "You stink. Again."

"So cruel." Dinah sighed.

"I'll take a rain check." Barbara stopped at the end of the hall and in a moment of pure childishness, stuck her tongue out at the blonde and left.

…

Later that evening, Oracle was at her station, sifting through mountains of data and information, sorting the valuable intel from the reams and reams of chaff that came with it on a daily basis. Helena and Charlie had joined Dinah in the lounge, midway through a Leverage binge.

It was proving to be a quiet night in Platinum Flats. Idly, she wondered if she could just drop the Oracle for the night. If anybody needed her, she'd left more than enough contingencies in place, and there were ways to get in touch with her…

"Barbara."

She turned, just as Zinda stepped into her workroom, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"What's up?" She asked casually, but frowned on seeing the worried expression on the blonde's face.

"I don't know. Something serious I think. Remember the League of Assassins?" The words came out in a stream, as if she'd been planning this conversation for a while.

"Of course." Barbara replied, slowly. Now she was getting concerned.

"That…what was it…Lady Sheva?"

Barbara nodded, staring, feeling as if the world around her had just tuned out.

"She dropped in a little earlier. On me. Said the League had some new leaders and to warn Black Canary…Dinah I mean."

"What happened to al Ghul?"

Zinda could only shrug, helplessly.

"What are we going to tell her?" Zinda's brow furrowed. "I'm told the only person who could take on Sheva was Dinah, and they nearly killed each other."

"Nothing."

"What?" Zinda blurted, surprised.

"Nothing. Tell her nothing." Barbara repeated, insistently. "Not till I find out what this is about."

"Not sure what help that'll be if she gets jumped in the street tomorrow or…"

"It won't happen like that." Barbara replied, mind racing. "Listen, she can't know. Not yet. She's got enough on her mind."

"I think she'd rather know." Zinda added, a touch reproachfully. "This is dangerous."

"Dinah is my friend." She argued. "I-…we  _will_  keep her safe."

They held one another's gaze across the dim-lit room.

"What about the others?" Zinda sighed in resignation.

"We'll brief Helena on what we know. And Kate when she gets back. I'll see if I can get some extra hands later."

"Do you think it's about Sin?"

"I don't know." Barbara replied, turning back to the monitors. She heard Zinda slip out quietly behind her. "I don't know." She repeated, under her breath. "But I'm going to find out."


	6. Idle Hands

“Arms up, ready?”

“Yeah.” Charlotte nodded, fists level with her face.

Dinah flashed the girl a quick smile, starting to pace back and forth slowly on the mat, as Charlie did the same.

She had intended to ask about getting their young ward some more martial training since she’d first got back, but it had slipped her mind what with one thing or another. It had surprised her when that Saturday morning, Barbara had approached her, asking if she’d be willing to do it herself.

Dinah had been only too happy to agree. She supposed Charlotte would be too, once she forgave her for waking her up at five in the morning to start.

“Your brain works better in the mornings, trust me sweetie.”

“This ain’t mornin’” Charlie yawned, despite a visible effort not to. Dinah smiled, sympathetically.

“Pull your hair back.” Dinah added. “Won’t always be able to do that in the real world, but I’d rather not have too many accidents if we can avoid them.” She said, giving her own ponytail a flick.

“Okay.” Charlie replied, doing so, before slipping into her ready stance again.

“Right. Let’s start with what you know.” Dinah continued. “Come at me like you want to put me down. Don’t hold back.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Charlie nodded, rolling her shoulders and taking a step to her left. Dinah shifted her balance, expecting the punch the girl threw with her right and catching it in her palm. She whipped out her left leg, pulling Charlie right out from under her causing the girl to fall back with a yelp.

She hadn’t expected the girl to do much more, but she was impressed by the weight behind her strike.

“Not bad.” Dinah extended a hand, helping her up. “You hit hard, now we just gotta help you hit faster.”

“That all?” Charlie winced, shaking the hand she’d punched with painfully.

“Not even close, sweetie.” Dinah smiled kindly. “Then we work on your pose, your movement, your balance, your style…” She listed each off on her fingers.

“Not just a weekend or two then?” The girl shrugged.

“Sorry. You want to do this you’re in for the long haul. Sometimes I’m gonna have to be cruel to be kind.”

Charlie appeared to give this some thought.

“That’s fair.”

“Good girl.” Dinah smirked, dropping into a fighting stance again. “Now, let’s try it again.”

 

…

 

“What am I looking for, Oracle?” Huntress knelt down, scouring the concrete for…she knew not what.

She was on the rooftop Zinda had first spotted Lady Sheva, as per Barbara’s instructions, investigating whether there were any signs of her intent, or her plans, or…

 _“I’m not sure.”_ Barbara replied. Helena thought she sounded tired. _“I just thought maybe…”_

Helena remembered Lady Sheva all too well. She remembered fighting the woman. She remembered giving it everything she had to knock her off her feet _just once_ and it damn near killed her.

Put simply, Helena knew they weren’t going to find a damn thing.

But Barbara was worried, and tired, and pushing herself hard, and though she didn’t entirely agree with how Oracle was conducting this…she knew she’d go along with whatever the woman wanted.

“I don’t like keeping Dinah in the dark about this.” She murmured, glancing around the other roofs.

 _“I know.”_ Barbara snapped. There was a pause, then a sigh. _“I’m sorry. I need your help. Kate will be back soon and we’ll be able to split the workload. And I’m seeing about getting some help. God damn it, I’m owed more than a few favours.”_

“It’s okay.” Helena replied, sympathetically. “You know you can count on me. I just think she needs to know. Zinda is right, it’s dangerous, playing this game.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

 _“She’s got a lot on her mind.”_ Another pause. _“I just want to get a head start on dealing with this, find out what we’re up against. I want us ready with a solution, or at least a plan.”_

“You know what Di’d say about what we’re doing.” Helena stood up, dusting some dirt off her knees.

 _“You know what she’d do, if she knew.”_ Barbara countered. _“She’d pull away again. Try and take it all on her own, maybe even leave again because she thought it’d keep us safe.”_

“Probably.” Helena conceded. “Not sure I could fill in again if she did.”

 _“What?”_ Barbara asked, surprised.

“Come on Babs. I did my best, but I haven’t seen you like this since before Di left.” Helena explained. She sighed. “Few times I was pretty sure we were finally going to lose you.”

_“Lose me?”_

“To the Oracle.” Helena replied, simply.

Barbara didn’t reply. The only sound over the comms was a quiet, steady breathing.

“I tried, Barbara, and you’ll always have my support for what you’ve done for me…but I’m not Dinah.” She continued. “Sometimes I’m not sure I even realised how much we needed her. Not sure if she does either. Maybe if she did, she wouldn’t have…well. I’m just glad she’s back, whatever the circumstances.”

Helena waited patiently for another minute or so, the only sound on the end of the line a short breath now and then, and the noise you make when you’re trying not to cry. Eventually, she heard Barbara clear her throat.

 _“Right.”_ Barbara cleared her throat again. _“Right. You might as well finish up your patrol, we’re probably not going to find anything that way. I’m in touch with Bruce, asked him to put together his data on the League of Assassins for me. Might give us some clues or some signs to look out for at least.”_

“You got it, boss.” Helena replied, intentionally not pressing Barbara on what had just been said.

_“Bruce also put me in touch with…another source. I’m following it up myself but for the time being, I’ll spare you the details.”_

“Not sure I like the sound of that.” Helena quipped.

_“It might be a dead end…but if it isn’t, it might tell us some of what this is all about.”_

“What about Di then?” Helena asked, taking a run up and jumping across to the next roof. “She’s gonna catch on if we’re all just avoiding her at random intervals. And what about if these guys just come after her one day?”

 _“These guys don’t work like that. You’ve seen Sheva, hell, you fought her.”_ Barbara replied. _“They won’t just come at us head on. It’s not their style.”_

“So…we just wait?”

 _“We’re not just sitting around. I’ve got some leads, and I have you guys out on the streets, with your eyes open and your ears to the ground.”_ She explained. _“As for Dinah…I’ve got ways of keeping her busy.”_

“Oh?”

_“You know I’ve been meaning to get Charlie some decent training in defense and hand-to-hand combat for a while now.”_

“Sneaky.” Helena grinned. “I like it. Should keep both of them out of trouble for a little while.”

 _“We should be so lucky.”_ Barbara groaned.

Helena frowned.

“When was the last time you slept? I bet you’ve been up all night with this.”

_“I’m fine, just need to wrap up some details here and check whether-”_

“Get some sleep, Babs.”

_“I said I’m fine, I just need to-”_

“If you’re not napping by the time I get back I will put on my best “angry teacher face” and nobody wants to see that.” Helena smirked. “Ask Charlie.”

Barbara snorted.

 _“Fine. You win.”_ She yawned, as if she’d been holding it in all day. _“See you later.”_

Helena crossed her arms, feeling smug, gazing out across the streets.

She might not have been Dinah, but the Birds were still alive, and still together. She’d done okay.


	7. Black And Red: Part 1

Dinah ducked the thugs fist, before rising again, driving her left hand upward into his gut. His eyes widened and he exhaled suddenly, keeling over.

“Don’t think I’ve just forgotten what you did to me last time.” Kate snapped, spinning on her heel and slamming her shockstaff into the knees of two other men trying to jump her from behind.

Manhunter, Kate Spencer, had found her way home the day before.

“I should hope not.” Dinah quipped. “Not after the trouncing I gave you.” She stepped back, lightly, easily slipping out of range of another attackers attempt to grab the collar of her jacket.

The thug stumbled, and grimaced, as if expecting what was coming next.

Dinah smiled, inhaled, and let out a brief, but focused, sonic cry.

The melee in the alley stilled for a moment, the gang dumbstruck as their companion sailed backward into a dumpster. Even Kate stood mid-strike.

“You didn’t do that last time.”

“Was feeling generous.” Dinah turned to face her, shrugging casually.

 _“Ouch.”_ Barbara intoned over the comms. _“Still haven’t got that sorted.”_

“Sorry, Babs.” Dinah smiled, adjusting the comm in her ear.

“Now look, the rest of you might just be fine with this-” Kate began.

 _“Cops inbound.”_ Barbara interrupted. _“Move it, ladies.”_

“You’ll all just wait here till the police arrive, right?” Dinah turned back to the few gang members still standing. “We’ve got less than a minute but I’m sure I’ve got time to knock a few more of you about.” She cracked her knuckles, grinning.

“No, we’re good.” One managed, raising his hands defensively.

“Cool.” Dinah adjusted the sleeves of her jacket and jogged toward an old ladder leading to the roof of a nearby building. “C’mon.” She waved back at her companion and started to climb.

“Unbelievable.” Kate muttered, before following.

 

…

 

“Oracle, we’re at the location.” Huntress reported, looking around dubiously. Lady Blackhawk was stood by her side, equally tense.

 _“One moment.”_ Barbara replied. _“Cops inbound. Move it, ladies.”_ She said quickly, into another channel.

“Trouble?” ZInda ventured.

Barbara sighed loudly.

 _“Kate is not making friends.”_ She muttered. _“And Dinah is not helping.”_

“You know they need to just hash it out.” Helena replied. “Otherwise it’ll stew and put us at risk on a mission.”

 _“She keeps baiting Kate, it’s so…”_ Barbara groaned. _“Nevermind. Just stand by, stay alert.”_

“So, who’s the contact? What did they want?”

“And why meet in the city park?” Helena murmured, casting another wary glance about.

The main paths were some distance away. The two had crossed into a slightly wooded area, mostly obscured from prying eyes.

“Trap.”  
“Trap.” The two women said at the same time, sharing a look.

 _“Possibly,”_ Barbara said, trying to remain in control. _“, so just stay alert. I can’t see anything where you are.”_

“So, this ‘contact’, Oracle…” Helena began.

_“Well, bear with me, but it might be-”_

“Huntress, that tree moved.” Zinda said quietly, peering curiously at it.

“Zinda, move!” Helena threw herself into Zinda, sending them tumbling aside as the tree actually _bent forward_ and crashed into the ground where she’d been standing, before folding upright again.

_“Helena, are you two alright?”_

“Ivy. It’s Ivy!” Huntress growled, instantly on her feet while Zinda struggled up behind her, slightly dazed.

Roots shot out of the trees around them. Helena rolled, drawing her crossbow and shooting through several of them. Zinda managed to kick one aside and draw her gun, but one of them wrapped around her wrist, causing her to drop the weapon. Another set of roots quickly shot forward and wrapped around her torso, pinning her other arm to her side and lifting her off the ground.

“Grabby sonsa…BITCHES!” She yelped as she was tugged sideways and pinned against a tree.

_“Helena? Zinda! What’s happening!”_

Helena turned to try and help her friend while jumping over another root, realising too late another two were waiting for her, one latching onto her arm, her crossbow slipping from her grasp as it did, and a second wrapping around her waist. She cried out in pain as it squeezed. Her stomach lurched as she too was tugged sideways and pinned to another tree.

 _“Helena? Are you alright?”_ Barbara continued, more insistently. _“Come on, talk to me.”_

“...nnggrr…trap…” Helena managed, as the roots tightened their grip, leaving her short of breath.

“Two birds with one stone? Lucky me.” A redheaded woman stepped out of the bushes, her skin had a noticeably green shade and was followed by some very oddly-behaving foliage. It drew a strange contrast with the fact that she was wearing a fairly normal pair of weathered old jeans and a dark-green tank top.

“…your…rrgghh…pun…sucks…” Zinda struggled against the roots.

“Sorry girls.” Ivy gave them both a smile. “Got a lot on my mind. Need to have a word with your ‘Oracle’.”

 _“Helena. Don’t toy with her.”_ Barbara warned.

“Yeah…” Helena struggled to turn her head, glaring at the notorious criminal.”…that…nrr…doesn’t happen.”

“No?” Ivy crossed her arms, her smile turning into a smirk. The roots tightened again.

Zinda cried out this time.

 _“Damn it Helena-”_ Barbara cut off suddenly, mid transmission.

“I know your boss is probably listening in so let’s stop fooling around already, I arranged this little meet up because I need…your help.”

“Got…that straight, sister.” Helena snarled through gritted teeth as her hand at last managed to squeeze past the last root and reach her utility belt. She managed to fumble her fingers into opening one of the catches and sliding out her goal.

It was an ornate Swiss-army knife, beautifully crafted and one of a kind. A gift from Batman, many years before.

It also held a number of insanely sharp blades.

She whipped out one such, using it to slice through the root pinning her waist to the tree. Ivy visibly recoiled, as if in pain at her action. She swiftly cut another, crushing her other arm and as she did, the others fell away, inactive.

She dropped into a crouch, gracefully, pocketing the knife and drawing a series of sharpened discs.

“Blackhawk!” She called, throwing a couple. They sliced through the thicker roots holding her companion and the blonde fell to the ground, if a little less gracefully.

“Thanks.” She drawled, leaning on the tree to steady herself.

Ivy appeared to be a little stunned. She and Zinda closed in on the retreating criminal, when Barbara’s voice abruptly cut back in.

_“-bit of trouble, but I’m back, what did I miss?”_

“Ivy is about to get a Gotham Handshake.” Helena smirked, cracking her knuckles.

 _“Alright, stop.”_ Barbara ordered, curtly. _“Give her the spare comm.”_

“C’mon, can’t we just-” Zinda began.

 _“We’ve wasted enough of our time.”_ Barbara said, impatiently. _“I just want to know what this is about.”_

Ivy had regained her composure, and stood defensively as the two approached.

“Okay, maybe we got off on the wrong foot.”

Helena said nothing, but tossed over the earpiece. She put it in her ear, cautiously.

“Oracle, right?”

_“Right.”_

“Disguised voice?” Ivy sighed, mock-hurt, grinning as the two heroes glared at her. “I suppose that’s fair.”

 _“What do you want?”_ Barbara asked, trying to remain calm. _“I don’t like putting my agents at risk for no reason.”_

“Oh I have good reason.” Ivy explained, suddenly quite reticent. “Harley. I’m looking for…uh…my girlfriend.”

 

…

 

“I’m a lot better now.” Kate argued. “Been training a lot more.”

“Just as well.” Dinah threw her a smile before going back to enjoying the view. “You definitely needed some.”

“Some of us don’t have ‘powers’.” Kate snapped back.

“Poor excuse, honey.” Dinah turned to face her, arms crossed in front of her. “Didn’t get as good as I am without hard work.”

“Alright, I’ve had it.” The woman stalked up to her. “I’ve had it with you thinking you can just swan on back here like you own the place, like you’re something better than the rest of us.”

“I don’t think that.” Dinah replied, calmly.

“Like hell.” Kate shoved her back. “You and me, rematch. Settle this now.”

Dinah sighed, melodramatically, inwardly enjoying how much more that seemed to frustrate her companion.

“Oh very well.” She stretched her neck and flexed her fingers. “If you insist.” Dinah grinned, raising her fists and dropping into a combat stance. “You can use your weapons if you want, just to make it fair.” She added, giddy with glee at the furious look on Kate’s face.

“You-” Manhunter snarled, tossing her shockstaff aside. “You need to be taken down a peg.”

“You gonna do it?”

 _“Di, did it work?”_ Barbara’s voice sounded quietly in her ear.

“Oh I think so.” Dinah murmured, as Kate set aside her gear and readied herself for the fight. “She seems very angry with me.”

 _“Well you do have that effect on people.”_ Barbara chuckled. _“I’ll keep this private channel open, sound off if you need anything.”_

“You got it Babs, give my love to the others.”

She heard Barbara scoff briefly before the transmission cut off again.

“Okay Canary,” Kate cracked her knuckles. “, let’s go.”

“After you.” Dinah smiled, making a ‘come at me’ gesture with her fingers.

Kate leapt at her with a roar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, some updates will be two-parters, because I think they might work a little better like that and...because the drama!
> 
> Incidentally, I hope people are enjoying this so far and I'd love to hear a little input about what you're thinking. Cheers.


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